Improvement in car-couplings



G. W. MOFFITT.

Car Coupling.

No. Patented Dec. 17, 1861.

ff" f 4 Witnesses:

Ww@ MW AMPHDTDjLITHD. 0. N.Y. I'DSBORNE'S PROEESS.) Y

UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE;

G. w. MOFFITT, or WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-COUPLINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 33,958, dated December 17, 1861.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, G. W. MOFFITT, of Washington, in the county of Washington and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Couplers for Railroad- Cars; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact Vdescription of' the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this speciication, in which- Figures l and 2 are vertical longitudinal sections of two of the said couplers in the positions which they will occupy just previously to the running into contact of the two cars to which ther said couplers are supposed to be respectively applied, and Fig. 3 like sections of the same after the cars are connected.

Like letters indicate the same objects when in the different figures.

The object of this invention is to produce a reliable sel f-lockin g wrought-iron lin k-coupler for railroad-cars which will be secure against the loss or displacement of the link.

It consists in constructing, arranging, and combining together within the coupling-box or bufng draw-head, substantially as hereinafter described and specified, a wrought-iron link, a catch or hook, and an abutment with a drop-piece, so that in running into contact two cars having the said link, catch, abutment, and drop-piece applied to each the link of either will interlock with the catch or hook of i the other, and thus produce a reliable connection of the two cars, the said apparatus allowing of the said connected cars being instantly disconnected at the pleasure of the conductor in charge by his operating a treadle or other sufficient device for the purpose arranged in connection therewith, substantially as hereinafter described.

In the drawings, A A are the links, B B the catches or hooks,F F the abutments with their self-acting drop-pieces f f, and G G the treadles of the two cars, respectively.

The link and hook of each coupler are Inade of wrought-iron and are secured permanently in the box or bufiing draw-head C, so as to project horizontally therefrom by means of' a strong wrought-iron bolt D, which is fixed permanently in a vertical position through the rear end of the said box C, the rear ends of the linkAand hook B being loose on the bolt D and arranged so that the link shall lie loosely upon the bottom of the box C and the rear end of the hook be supported above it by means of a cross-pin or suitable shoulders formed on the said bolt D, while its forward or hooked end rests between the sides of the link in a slot in the bottom of the box C upon a strong spring E,which is iixed firmly to the under side of the box by means of a nut d on the bolt. The upper part of the inside of the box C has a cast-iron abutment F, so formed and bolted firmly to it as to project sufficiently forward to form a stop or rest for the upper end of the hook proper, as seen in the drawings, and has jointed to it near its projecting end a drop-piece f, which rests in a reclining position against the front end of the said hook B when the upper end of the latter is in contact with the abutment F, substantially as shown in the drawings.

The stem of the treadle G is bent laterally, so as to be jointed to the lower part of the front end of the hook B and so as to clear the link, and is supported in a vertical position in front of the platform of the car, so as to project above the latter suiiiciently far to enable the conductor of the car to force the hook downward until the upper end of the latter shall be on a level or inthe same horizontal plane with the lower part of the inner side of the box C, as occasion may require the disconnectionof the cars.

Operation: When two cars which are fitted with my invention approach each otherclosely, the outer end of the link A of each will be nearly in the same horizontal plane, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, and as they come in contact one link underruns and lifts the other, so that the outer end of the latter runs over the upper faces of the opposite drop-piece f and abutment F, while the underrunning links bevel end slides up the front side of the opposite hook, and coming thus into contact with the projecting under side ot' the abutment F forces the said hook downward with its spring E, passes over, and drops down around the vertical part of the said hook, thus completing the connection of' the two cars, as seen in Fig. 3, the upper link lying loosely with its forward end upon the abutment of the opposite box. It therefore matters not which link of the two couplers slips over the hook, as either will perfect the connection required. 1

To disconnect the cars, the conductor presses downward the treadle G of the hook which holds theconnecting-link A, and thus allows the drop-piece f to swing downward and hang in a vertical position directly over the hook B so that on the conductors removing his foot from the treadle the said hook will be held down with its point on a level or in the same horizontal plane with the bottom of the link which connects with it, as indicated,

by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, and as the cars are drawn apart the connecting-link A passes freely over the point end of the depressed hook, tripping up the drop-piece f and allowing the said hook to return behind the drop to its normal position. lt will therefore be seen that the link A or A cannot be lost or displaced from its box, and that it will always be in position for interlocking with the hook of an opposite coupler ot' the same kind as the two cars to each of which the same has been applied are run into contact. Another advantage of this self-acting link-coupler arises in the fact that a car to which it has been applied will connect with a car which has been adapted for using the old removable link and bolt, as the link of my improved coupler will pass into the box or mouth of the draw-head of the old link-coupling, so that it can be connected therewith by its drop-bolt in the usual manner.

Having` thus fully described my improved coupler and pointed out its utility, what I claim as new therein of my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The application of a wrought-iron link A, a hook or catch B, and an abutment F, with a drop-piece f, to a bufng draw-head of a car, so that when two cars to which the saine are respectively applied are run into contact with each other for the purpose of being coupled the link of either will interlock with the catch or hook of the other, and thus complete a reliable connection ot' the said cars, the same being constructed and arranged together to operate substantially in the manner described.

G. XV. MOFFITT. Witnesses:

BENJ. MoRIsoN,

B. F. SHUTTUCK. 

